


The Perilous Forest

by Aini_NuFire



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Carnivorous Plants, Friendship, Gen, Hurt Gwaine (Merlin), Hurt Lancelot (Merlin), Hurt Leon, Hurt/Comfort, Peril, Whump, blind Lancelot, hurt Elyan, whump all around
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 11:14:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29063403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aini_NuFire/pseuds/Aini_NuFire
Summary: A “shortcut” home leads the gang into a dangerous forest that tries to kill them at every turn.
Comments: 28
Kudos: 52





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'd thought to write another one shot, but it turned into a mini fic with four chapters. Basically a whump fest. Thanks to 29Pieces for beta reading! (Also probably goes without saying but AU Lancelot lives.)

"I cannot wait to get back to Camelot," Gwaine grumped. "The wine in Dagor's kingdom was too sour."

"That didn't stop you from partaking generously," Elyan pointed out.

"I kept hoping it would improve."

Merlin rolled his eyes in fond amusement. He was eager to return home too. Being a king's manservant in a foreign kingdom was always challenging, especially if the staff in residence weren't feeling particularly helpful. But Arthur had concluded the treaty negotiations successfully and they were on their way back to Camelot.

Arthur pulled his horse to a halt at the top of a rise. "We can take a shortcut through that forest," he declared.

Merlin followed his gaze to a dark, dense wood spread out below. The road they were on stretched a long ways before winding around the vast forest, probably doubling the time it would take for them to keep to it. Merlin, however, did not like the look of the place.

"Don't you think there's a reason no one's lain a road through it?" he said.

Arthur scoffed. "Don't be such a girl's petticoat, Merlin."

Merlin scowled in response as Arthur turned his horse around to take a sloping trough down to the forest. He threw a beseeching look at the rest of the knights, who merely shrugged as they also turned their horses to follow their king. Resigned, Merlin nudged his own horse after them.

The edge of the forest was dark and forbidding, as far as Merlin was concerned. The trees were gnarled and pale, their leaves a dark pine, almost pitch color in places, and wispy cobwebs hung from the branches.

"I really think we should stick to the road," Merlin tried again.

The knights shared dubious glances at the unwelcoming wood, but Arthur just rolled his eyes and doggedly kicked his horse into entering. The rest of them had no choice but to follow.

The forest was thick and close, with low hanging branches that forced them to lean forward over their horses' necks. Dangling vines tried to snag at their hair and the clasps of the knights' cloaks, so soon they all decided to dismount and lead the horses on foot.

It was dark under the forest canopy, which was blocking out all sunlight and only the greyest filter was left to dimly permeate the enclosed space. No wonder all the foliage looked sickly. Merlin roved his eyes over the crooked trees, not a squirrel or bird in sight. This place gave him the creeps. Despite the lack of wildlife, he could almost feel eyes on them, a sleepless malice stirring at their arrival.

They walked a bit further before their horses started turning skittish, spooking at sounds that weren't there and fighting their masters.

"Maybe we should go back," Leon suggested as he struggled to keep his horse from backing up into Gwaine.

Merlin whispered soothing words in his mare's ears, trying to calm her even though he felt their agitation just as keenly himself.

Someone stepped on a branch, and the resounding crack echoed through the woods like a thunderclap. In a flash, dozens of bats suddenly burst from the mesh of leaves all around them. They swarmed over the knights in a flurry of shrieks, sending the horses into a frenzy. The reins were ripped from Merlin's hand as his mount reared and took off. The other horses all broke free and fled as well while the knights were preoccupied with shielding their faces from the bats' sharp tiny talons. The swarm took off into the trees a few moments later, leaving them alone, but by then all their horses were gone.

Merlin turned toward Arthur. "Would this be a good time to say 'I told you so'?"

"No, it would not," Arthur said darkly as he strode past and headed back down the way they'd come.

Merlin huffed and followed. None of the others deigned to comment as they backtracked in search of the horses. But there was no sign of the animals. In fact, there was no sign of the way _out_ of the forest, either.

"I thought we came this way," Arthur groused irritably.

"I thought we did too," Lancelot agreed.

"We hadn't gone that far in," Leon added. "The edge must be nearby."

They trudged along for a few more minutes, to no avail. They were still surrounded by the dense trees.

Arthur threw his arms up in frustration and came to a stop. "We'll just have to continue on to Camelot without the horses."

"What, through your shortcut?" Merlin said dubiously.

"Yes."

"Do you even know which direction Camelot is? Because you seem to have been wrong about the direction out."

"There's no need to panic, _Mer_ -lin." Arthur pointed back down the way they'd already backtracked from.

Merlin rolled his eyes in exasperation. Yet for all the ways he thought this was a _bad_ idea, the fact was they couldn't seem to find their way back out the way they'd come. So they could either keep wandering around, or press on and _hope_ they eventually came out the other side. There didn't seem to be much choice, so he huffed and followed after their fearless leader.

The forest grew so dense that they had to walk in single file through some of the thickest parts. Arthur took the lead. Without any sun to mark the passage of time, it was impossible to tell how long they'd been hiking.

Arthur trekked over a patch of dirt, followed by Leon, then Gwaine. But the moment Percival set foot on that same spot, his foot instantly sank down. The large knight yelped in surprise as he suddenly found himself waist deep in loose earth.

"Percival!" Merlin shouted in alarm.

The others in front pulled up short and crowded back to see what had happened. Lancelot stepped forward past Merlin and reached his hand out to help pull Percival out. But when the large knight took his friend's hand, he didn't budge from the sifting sand.

Percival's eyes widened. "I'm sinking."

"What?" Arthur blurted. "That was solid a minute ago."

Merlin had seen the others walk over that spot with no problem, but Percival was definitely sinking further into the quicksand that had appeared out of nowhere. Lancelot grasped at his arm and pulled with all his might, but it wasn't enough.

"We need something to pull him out," Gwaine said.

"Everything was with the horses," Elyan replied, expression stricken with fear as the urgency of the situation quickly settled in. The quicksand was up to Percival's sternum.

He grunted as he tried to wade toward the edge of the hole.

"Don't move, Percival!" Merlin warned. "It'll just make you sink faster."

"I'm sinking fast enough as it is," he snapped back, tone tinged with barely concealed panic.

"Here!" Leon yelled, reaching for some thick vines hanging from a nearby tree. Arthur and Gwaine quickly moved to help, tossing one of the sturdy, fibrous vines over a branch for leverage.

"Grab hold!" Arthur shouted.

Percival struggled to lift his arm out of the mire and grasp the hanging vine. But no sooner had his fingers wrapped around the shoot did he suddenly plunge beneath the surface.

"Percival!"

The vine went slack where it hung. Merlin watched in horror, wracking his brain for some form of magic he could use in that moment, regardless of the consequences. He didn't get the chance. Lancelot reached out and snatched the vine, then swiftly wound it around his arm multiple times until it was secure enough to cut off his circulation. Then he dove right into the pit of quicksand.

"Lancelot!" Elyan called after him.

Merlin sucked in a breath, holding it as he waited for them to resurface. Each second felt like an eternity between heartbeats. Then the vine snapped taut.

"Pull!" Arthur commanded, lurching forward to grab hold of the other end of the vine. Leon and Gwaine took hold too and heaved.

Merlin watched tensely, praying it wouldn't break.

Lancelot's bound arm re-emerged, still clinging fiercely to the plant. Then came his head, bowed low, and then Percival's. Both of them broke the surface with a gasp. Merlin and Elyan scrambled forward, careful to avoid the edge of the pit, stretching as far as they could to grasp their friends' cloaks and drag them to solid ground.

Percival's legs finally came free, and with the resistance of the quicksand abruptly gone, Arthur, Leon, and Gwaine fell backward with the force of their exertion, and Percival and Lancelot came crashing down on top of some tree roots. Percival was coughing raggedly, but he was alive. Merlin crouched next to them worriedly.

"You all right?"

Percival gave a shaky nod. "Y-yeah. Just…give me…a minute."

Lancelot slumped back against the tree, also breathing raggedly. Merlin did him the favor of disentangling the vine from his arm.

"You're insane, mate," Gwaine remarked.

Lancelot just smiled.

Percival craned his neck toward him. "Thanks."

Lancelot clapped him on the back, then reached up to try brushing the sand from his hair.

"I don't understand," Arthur said. "That ground was solid!"

"Have I mentioned I'm getting a really bad feeling from this place?" Merlin put in.

Arthur huffed. "We should keep moving. You two good?"

Lancelot and Percival nodded and got to their feet. Merlin really wished they could go back the way they'd come and get out of here, but since that already hadn't worked out, he supposed the only way was forward.

Lancelot and Percival spent the next several kilometers of walking shaking out the sand that had gotten absolutely everywhere. Merlin grimaced in sympathy; that had to be unpleasant.

They continued through the forest, everyone seeming on edge now and watching the ground beneath their feet warily.

"Look at that," Elyan broke the silence.

Merlin glanced over and found him looking at something a few yards away, a bunch of bright blue flowers growing along ivy up a few of the trees. Their vibrant color was stark in the dim forest, but as Merlin looked at them, they seemed to be moving. Elyan started toward them.

"Be careful," Lancelot said, trailing cautiously behind him.

"Never seen flowers do this," he commented.

Indeed, the blossoms were opening and closing in a steady rhythm, almost like the pulsing of a beating heart. Merlin didn't know whether to be fascinated or unnerved, but he kept his distance and watched tensely as Elyan kept drifting toward them.

"Don't get too close," Merlin warned.

"What's the holdup?" Arthur called from the head of the group.

"Sorry," Elyan called back and turned away from the flowers.

The three of them quickened their pace to catch up. But just as they rounded one of the trees, Lancelot pulled up short as he almost ran face first into a blue flower hanging out from the trunk. The petals fanned wide, and in the next moment a cloud of orange pollen burst from the blossom into his face. Lancelot reeled back with a cry, hands flying up to his eyes. Merlin and Elyan scrambled away from the flower as the others came running back.

"What happened?" Arthur demanded.

Lancelot staggered backwards and bent double, clutching at his face. Merlin rushed forward and gripped his arms just as Lancelot tripped and went crashing to his knees. Merlin dropped with him.

"Water!" he yelled. "Does anyone have water?"

"Here!" Leon yanked the waterskin from his person and handed it over.

Merlin frantically pulled his neckerchief over his head and tipped the water into the fabric. "Lancelot!" He tried to prize the knight's hands away from his face.

Gwaine dropped down next to him and helped by capturing Lancelot's wrists and wrenching them down so Merlin could help him. Lancelot's face was mottled red from the pollen having burned.

"Tilt his head to the side," Merlin instructed tersely to anyone who would listen.

Leon moved around and clasped the sides of Lancelot's head, angling him to the left. Lancelot shuddered and whimpered as his friends restrained him.

"Open your eyes," Merlin coaxed.

Lancelot grunted in pain as he tried to obey, his eyelids squeezing shut again quickly.

"I know it hurts, try to keep them open." Merlin then poured some of the water straight from the skin over his eyes as Lancelot struggled to open them again. They had to flush the pollen out. Merlin used his wet scarf to wipe around Lancelot's face as well.

After several moments, Lancelot's writhing gradually stilled as the process seemed to work. Merlin rewet his scarf and tentatively wiped it over his friend's eyelids. Leon and Gwaine released him, but as soon as they did, Lancelot flailed his arms out. He knocked against Merlin's and latched on with desperate intensity. Bloodshot eyes blinked furiously at something just past Merlin's shoulder.

"I can't see," Lancelot said.

Merlin returned his grip. "Just give it a few minutes to clear."

" _No_. I- I can't see anything." He moved his other arm out in an arc until it bumped against Gwaine and then his fingers blindly grasped around for his shoulder.

Merlin exchanged a horrified look with the others. This was bad. This was very bad…


	2. Chapter 2

Arthur stood in a small huddle with Leon and Merlin as the others stayed near Lancelot. "Do you think it's permanent?" he asked quietly.

"I have no idea," Merlin replied. "He needs Gaius."

"Is there anything at all you can do for him?" Leon asked.

"With what?" he hissed. "We have no supplies, not even bandages."

"Then we have no choice but to keep moving," Arthur said grimly and broke away from their conversation to head back over to the others. "Lancelot, do you think you can walk?"

His knight looked pale and shaken, but Lancelot's throat bobbed and he gave a slow nod. Feeling around the ground carefully, he started to push himself to his feet. His arms immediately flailed in response to the darkness he alone faced, and Percival quickly moved in to give him something to grab hold of as an anchor and guide.

They all set off again, their pace much slower with Lancelot stumbling along. Arthur had to repeatedly catch himself from getting too far ahead.

"Don't rub at it," he heard Merlin say.

Arthur stopped and turned around in time to see Lancelot make an abortive move of reaching for his eyes. Merlin's mouth was pressed into a thin line.

"When my scarf is dry, we can use it as a bandage," he said. "Try not to touch it in the meantime."

Arthur frowned. That could take a while. Without giving it a second thought, he ripped off a strip from his cloak and brought it over. "How about this?"

Merlin looked at him in surprise, then quickly took the offering. "Perfect, thanks."

They took a few moments so Merlin could bandage Lancelot's eyes and face, then continued onward.

The forest made creaking sounds all around them, like it was a living entity, aged and decrepit. Arthur found it very unnerving and he rued coming in here after all, not that he'd admit it out loud.

"Everyone be on guard," he cautioned.

No sooner had he said that did he feel something slither across his boot. He jerked his gaze down to find a vine coiling around his ankle. It tightened in an instant and yanked his foot right out from under him. Arthur cried out as his back hit the ground, but then he was being dragged away into the underbrush. He heard the distant shouts of his friends as he flailed his arms, trying to grab hold of something. But he was moving too fast. Leaves and branches scratched at his face and hands. He tried to get his sword, but there was no way to free it from its scabbard.

He finally broke through the dense foliage and was hoisted up off the ground until he was dangling from one ankle upside down over a massive plant with a bloom the size of three horses. The flower opened up four petals lined with hundreds of tiny spikes, and in the center was an orifice with razor sharp teeth. Arthur screamed as the maw opened wide with a deep rumble.

The knights burst through the trees with battle cries, brandishing their blades at the plant. Leon and Gwaine hacked at the carnivorous flower while Elyan and Merlin grabbed hold of the vine and pulled with all their might. Once Arthur was no longer dangling above the sharp spicules, Elyan swung his sword and sliced through the shoot. Arthur yelped as he plummeted to the ground.

The plant shrieked and thrashed as the others slashed and stabbed at it, bright green blood spurting across the ground. Merlin grabbed Arthur's arm and hauled him up and away. The flower squealed and furled its petals back in as though trying to protect itself. It gave one last violent shudder before falling still.

The knights backed up warily, swords dripping with green unguent.

"Sire, are you all right?" Leon asked urgently.

Arthur nodded, still trying to catch his breath. That had been terrifying.

"This forest is trying to kill us," Gwaine grunted.

As irrational as that sounded, Arthur couldn't bring himself to disagree.

"Am I still a girl's petticoat for not wanting to come in here?" Merlin asked petulantly.

Arthur just rolled his eyes and quickly retreated from the dead plant. At least, he hoped it was dead. They backtracked, the trail of broken twigs and drag marks easy to follow until they came upon where Lancelot and Percival had been left.

"What happened?" Lancelot asked frantically, flinching at the sound of their footsteps. "Arthur?"

"I'm all right," he said, reaching out to reassure his friend. He was littered with tiny scratches but he'd live. "Let's get out of this place."

That was easier said than done. The forest had been quite vast from what they'd seen up on that ridge along the road, and it felt even more expansive when they were deep within its bowels. Not much later, they found themselves wading into a fog that grew heavier within moments, completely immersing them in an opaque shroud.

"Stay close!" Arthur called over his shoulder. "This way!"

"Where?" someone responded. "Where are you!"

"I can't see!"

Arthur paused and turned around, waiting for the others to catch up. But the fog was so thick he couldn't see even an inch in front of his face. "Over here!" he yelled.

More shouts went up, but they were growing more distant, not closer.

"No, this way!" Arthur called, making his way back along the narrow path. Or, he thought he was, but surely he should have run into one of his friends by now. Where on earth were they getting to?

His boot caught on something large and he tripped, landing with a grunt. Lying half on top of what had snagged him allowed him to see a splash of red, and the other person made a muffled sound as well.

"Lancelot!" Arthur scrambled onto his knees and reached out to pull him upright.

"Arthur? What's happening?"

"It's impossible to see through this fog." In that, they were nearly as blind as their injured friend. "Where did everyone go?"

"I don't know. I tripped and lost contact with Percival. I tried shouting, but everyone sounded like they were getting farther away." His throat bobbed. "I thought it best not to move and hope they came back."

"They all probably just got turned around," Arthur said and hauled Lancelot onto his feet.

At least, he hoped that was the case; he hadn't heard any screams of someone being attacked. But now there was an eerie silence as though everyone else had just vanished.

Arthur took Lancelot's arm and guided it up to his own elbow, which the blinded knight then grasped fervently. "Hold tight."

They then moved off together, calling for the others as they waded through the milky murk.

"Arthur!" a frantic voice echoed through the mist.

"Merlin!"

Lancelot echoed his calls, and a few moments later, his ridiculous manservant came bumbling through the fog. Arthur had never been so elated to see him.

"Where are the others?" he asked.

Merlin shook his head. "I don't know. I don't even know how we got so separated."

Arthur huffed. He was really beginning to loathe this forest.

Merlin took hold of Lancelot's other arm and the three of them continued onward, linked tightly so as not to lose each other again. They came upon Sir Leon not long after, but he was alone. Then the fog began to mysteriously clear, slithering away like it had had its fun and was done playing games.

And in the stillness of the forest where they stood, there was absolutely no sign of the others.

.o.0.o.

Gwaine stumbled out of the fog and spun around. Movement several yards down caught his attention as Elyan also emerged from the heavy mist.

"Gwaine! Where is everyone?"

"No idea." He swept his gaze around, but there was no penetrating the thick cloud. Even their voices seemed to get swallowed up in its weight.

"Hey!" a third voice called as Percival made his way toward them.

"Have you seen the others?" Elyan asked urgently.

Percival shook his head, expression pinched in distress. "I lost Lancelot."

"Lost?" Elyan repeated.

"One minute he had a hold of me, the next he didn't. The fog was so thick…I must have gotten turned around." Percival looked away, eyes wracked with guilt.

"It wasn't your fault," Elyan comforted.

Gwaine scanned the wall of mist. "Arthur! Merlin!"

There was no answer, no sign of them or Lancelot or Leon.

"What do we do?" Elyan asked.

Gwaine scowled at the fog like it was an enemy intentionally keeping them from their friends and king. "We can't go back in there," he said regretfully. "We'll just end up lost again."

"But we can't leave without Arthur and the others."

"We can walk the edge of it," Gwaine replied. "They're bound to come out somewhere."

Percival glanced up and down the shrouded trees. "Split up?"

Gwaine's mouth pressed into a thin line. They'd have a better chance of coming across the others if they went both directions, but he was loath to risk losing each other again. Not to mention they could run into another one of those carnivorous plants.

"Best we stick together," he said.

Elyan and Percival nodded in grim agreement.

"So which way?" Elyan asked.

Gwaine shrugged helplessly and turned to go right. He'd gone three steps when a geyser of fire and sulfurous gas belched up from the ground. The flames caught his arm and lit up the edge of his cloak. He stumbled back with a surprised yelp and slapped at his arm. Percival and Elyan ran over; Percival grabbed the tail end of his cloak and flipped it up and over the flames, using the fabric to pat them out.

"What the hell was that?" Elyan exclaimed.

Gwaine jerked his gaze across the ground and noted that the soil was different here, more spongy looking with moss and a low-hanging murk clinging to the surface. He'd thought it was just remnants of the fog, but after that little explosion, he could smell the fumes. It was a bog.

"Okay, let's go the other way," Gwaine said.

The three of them carefully backed away from the volatile marsh to head the opposite direction, but a few steps that way and another stream of fire spewed up from the ground.

"You've got to be kidding me," Gwaine growled. They were surrounded by the bog on three sides and the suffocating mist on the other. Neither was a good option at the moment, but they definitely did not want to get split up again in the fog, not to mention it'd be doubly bad if they stumbled into a section of the bog shrouded in mist.

"Guess there's nothin' for it," he grumbled, then took a deep breath before continuing on at a very slow and very careful pace, watching the ground where he stepped for any signs of a concealed blowhole.

Noxious flames shot up at random intervals, and there was almost no indication in the spongy earth as to where it would happen. There was the faintest hiss of gas as a warning, and Gwaine started being able to sidestep in time to avoid getting singed.

A particularly loud hiss prickled his ears, and Gwaine jerked his gaze around in search of the impending eruption. The column of fire that shot straight up was much larger than previous ones, and the edge of the flames caught Percival's cloak and ignited it with a whoosh. Percival yelped and frantically ripped the article off, tossing it away before it could burn him as well.

They quickened their pace, anxious to get out of this wretched fire swamp. When they finally set foot on more firm ground, they practically collapsed in relief. But in all that time, they still hadn't seen any sign of their friends.

Elyan slumped against a gnarled tree trunk. "What now? Wander around the edge of the mist forever? What if Arthur and the others were the complete opposite direction?"

Gwaine shook his hair out of his eyes and began to pace. There was no way they could navigate a path back through that bog. Maybe Arthur and the others were in the opposite direction; maybe they were somewhere else entirely, scattered and alone. This forest was a twisting labyrinth with booby traps everywhere they stepped.

Something in the forest creaked and groaned, and then Elyan screamed.

Gwaine and Percival whirled toward him, hands going to their swords. But it wasn't a fanged flower like before. No, Gwaine gaped in horror at Elyan having somehow sunk _into_ the tree bark. His left arm was completely submerged and half his chest.

Percival surged forward and grabbed his other arm, trying to pull him out, but the bark seemed to be as firm as when he'd first leaned against it. The tree creaked and groaned again as it shifted. Something snapped loudly and Elyan threw his head back with a tortured scream.

Percival backed up and drew his sword. Gwaine did the same and they attacked the trunk with their blades. The tree made a horrendous noise in response, a grating sound that felt like spikes in Gwaine's eardrums. But he didn't stop. He and Percival hacked relentlessly at the bark encasing their friend, chunks flying away as they went. The branches above thrashed, showering them with dead leaves. Finally they'd chopped away enough of the bark for Percival to yank Elyan free, and they all scrambled away from the tree. The trunk moaned and whined as it shifted, trying to fold over its wounds.

Elyan gasped and bent double in pain, his left arm hanging at a bad angle by his side. Definitely broken.

Percival glanced between the tree, fire swamp, and fog. "I don't think we're getting out of this place alive," he said quietly.

Gwaine thought he was right.


	3. Chapter 3

After moving away from the fog and yelling for the others to no avail, Arthur called for them to stop for a rest. Merlin helped ease Lancelot down to sit and then crouched in front of him.

"I want to check your eyes," he said softly.

Lancelot gave the barest nod, otherwise holding himself rigidly as Merlin reached out to unwind the scrap of Arthur's cloak from around his face. The skin was still speckled bright red without any salve to soothe some of the irritation. Lancelot took in a deep breath, then forced his eyes open. Merlin held his breath as he watched his friend's expression.

Lancelot stared straight ahead, then swallowed hard. "Still nothing," he whispered.

Merlin's heart fell and he wordlessly wrapped the makeshift bandage back around his friend.

"This is permanent, isn't it?" Lancelot said hoarsely. "My time as a knight is over."

"You can't think like that," Merlin insisted. "I'm sure Gaius will have something that can help."

"If we ever get out of this place," he mumbled.

Merlin looked up and shared a grim look with Leon, who'd been listening in. Things were not looking good, but they'd been in dire situations before. Surely nothing could top Morgana taking over Camelot with an immortal army. Merlin gazed around at their surroundings helplessly.

"Let's keep moving," Arthur spoke up. He always wanted to keep moving.

Not that sitting in one place would help them anyway, so Merlin and Leon heaved Lancelot to his feet and braced him on either side as they followed after their king, keeping the perimeter of the fog in sight in the hopes of coming across the others. Every once in a while one of them would call out for them.

"More flowers," Leon suddenly announced.

Lancelot stiffened next to him and Merlin.

"They're not the same," Merlin quickly assured him. They were a different color, chartreuse yellow, and mostly growing on the ground, not the trunks of trees. They also weren't moving. Still… "We should keep our distance," he warned.

Both Arthur and Leon nodded in agreement.

They gave the patch of flowers a wide berth, or so they'd thought. Leon stepped on a vine snaked across his path, and a flower bud suddenly shot up from the distant blossoms. It burst open and a cluster of barbs went shooting through the air. They struck Leon in the side of the neck before any of them could blink an eye.

"Arthur!" Merlin yelled, dragging Lancelot backwards and hopefully out of range.

Arthur drew his sword and ran back to grab Leon, hauling him away as well. Leon looked stunned as he reached up and plucked the barbs from his neck. He stared at them blankly for a moment before his eyes rolled back and he went boneless.

"Merlin!" Arthur shouted in alarm.

Merlin had to let go of Lancelot to rush to Leon's side.

"What's happening?" the blind knight exclaimed.

"It must be poison," Merlin said. He snatched up the cluster of spicules, careful not to touch the tips. Not that they offered any insight; he'd never seen anything like them before.

"Do something!" Arthur snapped.

"How?" he shouted back. He frantically felt for the pulse point beneath Leon's jaw. Already it was racing. Merlin knew a little of what Gaius would do in this situation, but they didn't have any supplies for him to work with!

" _Merlin_."

"I need herbs," he barked tersely.

Arthur flung his arms out. "We're in the middle of a forest! Find some!"

"A forest with plants that keep trying to kill us!"

"Merlin," Lancelot's calm voice interrupted. Even with his eyes covered, he exuded a stolid presence, the person Merlin could always depend on.

He paused to take a steadying breath. Right, he had to try, or Leon would probably die.

He pushed himself to his feet. "Stay here," he snapped, then turned and hastened through the woods, searching the underbrush for anything he could use.

When he finally found a patch of herbs, they were wilted looking and sickly. Apparently nothing good thrived in this accursed place. Still, it was better than nothing. Merlin hastily gathered everything that was there and hurried back.

"Do you still have water?" he asked Arthur urgently.

Arthur twisted around to retrieve his waterskin and handed it over. "Some."

Merlin cast about for some stones and grabbed anything within reach. It was going to be messy and haphazard, but he had little to work with. He crushed the herbs on a rock, then added a tiny bit of water at a time until he'd made a glumpy sort of paste, which he then slathered over the cluster of pinpricks in Leon's neck.

"Hopefully this will draw out some of the poison," he said.

He dipped his finger in some of the poultice and spread a little inside Leon's mouth. It couldn't hurt to get some internally as well.

Merlin rocked back on his haunches. "That's all I can do. I'm sorry."

Arthur nodded solemnly. "Of course. Gaius would be proud."

It was hollow praise, especially if it turned out none of this helped Leon.

Merlin cleared his throat awkwardly. "Can you see if you can find any more that look like this?" he asked Arthur.

Arthur furrowed his brow, but took another look at the herb and then stood up to go do that. Once he was far enough away, Merlin bent over Leon and tried to cast a healing spell. He felt his magic surge within him and flow into his friend, but he couldn't tell whether it'd had much of an effect. Leon didn't open his eyes and sit up, in any case.

"Did it work?" Lancelot asked quietly.

"I don't know," he said glumly. "Healing spells have never been my strong suit." He reached out to feel Leon's pulse again. It was a bit steadier. "I think I bought him some time."

"That's good."

Arthur returned a few minutes later, empty handed. "You're right, nothing familiar grows here," he said with frustrated defeat.

Merlin nodded. "What now?"

Arthur's mouth pressed into a tight line. If they stayed in the hopes some of the others would find them, Leon would only get worse. But if they went on, they might never see Gwaine, Elyan, or Percival again.

"We keep moving," Arthur declared grimly.

Merlin didn't argue. He understood the dilemma, and frankly didn't know what the right course of action was himself. So he took hold of Lancelot while Arthur slung an unconscious Leon over his shoulders, and they set off at a hobbling pace through the dark forest.

.o.0.o.

Arthur clenched his jaw as he took one staggering step after the other, Leon's dead weight draped across the back of his shoulders. He knew Merlin had done what he could with their limited resources, but he could feel the heat beginning to burn within his first knight. Leon was dying, Lancelot was blind, and three more of his knights were missing. How had it all gone so wrong?

He heard the crinkling of leaves up ahead and pulled up short.

"What is it?" Merlin whispered.

Arthur slowly eased Leon down to the ground so he could draw his sword, waving at Merlin to be quiet. He had no idea what manner of abomination would reveal itself next, but Arthur was the only one capable of defending his men now, and he was going to with every fiber of his being.

He edged closer to the sounds shuffling within the thick foliage, raising his sword in preparation. He aborted his strike with a jolted shock as Gwaine stumbled through the shrubbery, his own sword held aloft. Both of them exchanged startled looks, then shook their heads.

"Bloody hell," Gwaine muttered. "Good to see you're still alive."

"Likewise."

There was more crunching foliage behind Gwaine, who half turned to wave Percival and Elyan through. They all looked a little rough around the edges, and Elyan was holding his arm cradled to his stomach.

"What happened?" Arthur asked.

"More bloody plants trying to eat us," Gwaine growled. His brow furrowed as his gaze slid past Arthur to the others. "What happened to you lot?"

"Same," Arthur said grimly. "Leon got hit with some poisoned barbs."

"Elyan's arm is broken."

Merlin pushed his way forward at that. "Let me see."

Percival handed Elyan over to his care and then went to Lancelot, ducking his head and saying something quiet in the blinded knight's ear.

The rest of them waited while Merlin set Elyan's arm and used the knight's own cloak to fashion a sling around the splints. Then he went to check on Leon, whose fever was still burning. They were all battered and dispirited, and Arthur could see clearly on their faces that hope of escaping this place was swiftly waning.

"We should keep moving," he said, because that was the only option they had and to stay still was to give up and wait for death.

"We don't even know which way we're going anymore," Gwaine groused.

Arthur's mouth pursed into a thin line. Gwaine wasn't wrong. Wandering around aimlessly might feel like not giving up, but it could still lead them to death.

He straightened with an idea. "I'll climb to the top of the trees. I'll be able to see which way we need to go from up there."

They all automatically craned their heads back to look at the dark, twisted canopy.

"Maybe I should go," Gwaine said.

"Or me," Percival chimed in.

"I'll do it," Arthur said staunchly. He'd gotten his friends into this mess; he'd get them out.

He took off his sword belt and handed it to Gwaine so it wouldn't inhibit his climbing. Then he walked toward a tree that looked like it had a few reachable footholds.

"Be careful," Merlin said.

Arthur didn't return his concern with a quip this time and instead jumped up to grab a low-hanging branch, then hauled himself into the tree. The gnarled and knobby branches gave him plenty of places to grab, but they were also so twisted and close that he had to twist and contort himself, like a rat winding through a maze of obstacles. He slipped a couple of times, sending his heart rate into a panic, even though he managed to catch himself.

Finally he broke through the top of the canopy and into open air. The wind buffeted his face like a cold slap, and he sucked in a ragged breath of it. He hadn't realized how stifling the air was below. He took a moment to just breathe, then carefully turned to scan the top of the forest. It stretched for miles, but he spotted open fields and a river due west. It wasn't that far to go.

Filled with a surge of confidence, Arthur began to climb back down. Scraggly twigs scratched at his face and hands, adding to the myriad of small cuts he already bore. He dropped the last few feet to the ground, grunting as the impact reverberated up through his knees.

"The edge of the forest isn't far," he declared excitedly as he turned to face his friends. He froze in shock. The entire area was filled with a seething mass of vines. They had flooded the forest floor and crawled over the trees like a wave of snakes. Arthur caught sight of Gwaine first, the man being held aloft in a cocoon of vines coiled around his entire body.

One by one, Arthur spotted the others, all wrapped up and gagged by the living organism. Muffled cries tried to get his attention, and he went for his sword, only to remember that he'd given it to Gwaine.

Before he could cast about for a weapon, several vines shot toward him, lashing around his legs, arms, and torso. Arthur yelped as they coiled about him, trapping him in their clutches like everyone else.


	4. Chapter 4

Merlin lay completely cocooned from head to toe in the vines, only his eyes and nose left uncovered. The things had come upon them with lightning precision, restraining and gagging them before they could shout a warning to Arthur. And when he had finally come back down from the trees, they'd grabbed him too.

Merlin couldn't help but whimper as the vines slowly squeezed tighter, like a python preparing its meal. He could see his friends all in a similar state. Gwaine had a vine around his throat, his face turning puce as his airway was gradually constricted. Elyan screamed into the vine gagging him as his broken arm was crushed. Lancelot and Percival were in the center of the writhing mass, and Merlin watched them completely disappear beneath it. He knew there was no time to think, no time to check he wouldn't be seen. If he didn't act now, they were all going to die.

Merlin unleashed his magic with everything he had. He felt it surge up within him and then outward with a burning force that blasted through the living vines. The ones coiled around him exploded with sizzling amber sparks, the wave cascading through the vines. The mass shrieked and thrashed in response.

Merlin dropped to the ground, free, as did Gwaine, Elyan, Leon, and Arthur. Leon was still unconscious and the vines immediately began to crawl over his body. Merlin darted forward and seized his arms, dragging him away from the center of the mass. He then snatched up Leon's sword and plunged back in, hacking at the vines wildly. Arthur, Gwaine, and even Elyan were doing the same. But the vines were everywhere and lashing out, trying to restrain them again.

Merlin hacked his way to the spot where Lancelot and Percival were and, heedless of whether anyone saw him, shot his palm out toward the vines and hissed the same spell as before, blasting the top layer of vines away. They squealed as their fibrous roots burned.

Lancelot and Percival were still bound tightly, so Merlin took his sword to the coiled mass around them. The plants or plant continued to shriek as the other knights sliced off its various appendages. They finally retreated enough that Percival and Lancelot were able to scramble out of the pit and join the fight. Even blind, all Lancelot had to do was swing wildly and some vine or other was caught in the bite of his steel.

The vines finally began to recoil, slithering back through the forest, apparently fed up with their meal that fought back too much.

"This way!" Arthur shouted.

There was no time to wait for the plants to regroup. Merlin grabbed Lancelot; Percival slung an unconscious Leon over his shoulder; and they all broke into a harried pace, lurching and stumbling through the dense woods. None of them slowed down. Lancelot tripped several times until Gwaine ducked in and slung one of Lancelot's arms over his shoulder. Together, he and Merlin kept Lancelot from falling as they ran.

The forest was so close and tight that when they finally broke free of its perilous confines, it came as a complete surprise. One minute they were hemmed in by twisted trees, the next they were stumbling into open countryside, sucking in ragged gasps of fresh air. There was no time for relief, though.

"Keep going," Arthur urged.

Right, they should probably get far away from the edge of the woods, just in case. Then they could take stock of their injuries.

There was a river up ahead, and Arthur finally determined they'd put a safe enough distance between themselves and the forest. Most of the knights collapsed in a heap, and Merlin quickly set about doing triage.

He checked Leon first. The knight was still lost to his fever, and most of the poultice Merlin had applied to his neck had rubbed off in the scuffle. He glanced at Lancelot, kneeling in the grass with a dirty bandage around his face, then at Elyan cradling his obviously broken arm and Gwaine rubbing at a bruised throat. He finally looked at Arthur and Percival.

"Either one of you hurt?" Merlin asked.

They both shook their heads. They were scratched up, but as long as they didn't have any pressing injuries, Merlin needed their hands.

He pointed at Percival. "I need two pieces of wood to re-splint Elyan's arm. Er, not from the forest."

Percival just gave him a dry glare at that.

Merlin turned to Arthur next. "And those herbs from before. See if you can find any. Actually, grab anything that looks herby; I'll make use of whatever's available. Sire," he added as an afterthought.

But Arthur was obviously too worried about his knights to quibble over Merlin giving him orders. As he and Percival set off on their tasks, Merlin went to Gwaine first. The fact that he was still standing was good, it meant his windpipe hadn't been crushed.

Merlin reached out to palpate the swollen flesh, but Gwaine batted his hands away and scowled. Merlin huffed irritably and yanked his neckerchief off instead. He knelt by the river's edge and soaked it in the cold water, then stood and handed the sodden article to his friend.

"Wrap that around your throat to help keep the swelling down. _Don't_ argue. I don't have the time," he said tersely.

Gwaine ducked his gaze and proceeded to place the cold scarf around his neck. Satisfied, Merlin turned to Elyan next. He grimaced in sympathy; having a broken bone set twice in one day was bound to push anyone past their limit of endurance.

Merlin knelt next to him on the ground and gently extricated the limb from the knight's protective hold. "The good news is I don't think there's a new break, just the first one needs to be set again."

Elyan's face looked bloodless with how hard he was clenching his jaw.

Percival returned with some sticks for splints, and Merlin quickly pulled the bones back into place, then set the braces against both sides and used a few more tattered strips of their already ruined cloaks to secure them.

Then Arthur returned, thankfully with some herbs. Merlin parsed them out, wanting to make a paste for Gwaine's throat as well as for Leon.

"How is he?" Arthur asked.

"Hanging in there."

"What the hell happened back there?" Arthur asked next, not to Merlin specifically, but the warlock kept his head down and busied himself with mixing up the poultice.

"No idea," Gwaine said, voice hoarse.

"Kind of looked like magic, didn't it?" Elyan spoke up nervously.

"That whole forest was magic," Percival put in. "But I don't care what it was; it got us out of there."

They fell silent after that, Percival's comment apparently putting an end to the speculation. Merlin focused on applying the poultice to Leon's neck, then bullying Gwaine into letting him put some on his throat as well. Arthur helped by simply ordering the knight to do it.

Merlin went to check Lancelot last, the poor knight unable to do anything but sit on the ground while the others meandered around him. "You okay?" Merlin asked in concern.

"No worse," he replied. "You?"

"Fine. But next time I have a bad feeling about one of Arthur's shortcuts, back me up?" His lips quirked with a small smile, which he wished his friend could see.

Lancelot's mouth tugged slightly in response, and he shifted his hand until it bumped against Merlin's, then wrapped his fingers around his wrist with a subtle squeeze. "Thanks."

Merlin squeezed back. Lancelot knew what magic had saved them.

They were all exhausted from the ordeal, but they still needed to get Leon to Gaius as quickly as possible, so Arthur and Percival set to constructing a litter while Merlin and Gwaine refilled their waterskins in the river. Then they began the long slog toward Camelot.

But fortune finally smiled upon them and they were met with a troop of knights in red when they reached the road.

"Your Highness!" the leader exclaimed.

Arthur blinked in surprise at them. "Sir Baern. What are you doing here?"

"Your horses returned without you. We were of course concerned and rode out immediately."

They all visibly sagged in relief. Not only had they been found by friends, but they now had a ride home.

.o.0.o.

A few days after their return to Camelot, Arthur made his way to Gaius's chambers to check on his injured knights. Most of them were going to be just fine, but it was close for a bit with Sir Leon. And then of course there was Lancelot's sight… Arthur would never forgive himself if those two didn't recover, and he would have lost two of the finest knights he'd ever known.

But when he knocked on the door and cracked it open to peek inside, he found Leon awake and propped up in the corner with a bunch of pillows. Though pale and wan, he seemed alert as Arthur made his way over.

"Sir Leon. It's good to see you awake."

Leon nodded back. "Sire," he replied, voice threadbare but steady.

"His fever broke last night," Gaius said, bringing over a bowl of broth for him.

Arthur felt a measure of relief at that. He already knew Elyan would heal, and he glanced at Gwaine next, the nasty bruise on his throat standing out starkly against his white shirt.

"I've advised Sir Gwaine not to speak for a few more days until that's healed," Gaius went on before said knight could say anything at Arthur's questioning look.

"That'll be an improvement, actually," Merlin teased.

Gwaine shot him a surly glower, but Elyan and Percival snickered.

Arthur took a breath and finally turned to the cot Lancelot was sitting on, his face wrapped in clean bandages. Gaius had put some kind of medicine directly on his eyes the moment they'd returned and then wrapped them again with the caution that they needed time to heal. Now, however, was the moment of truth, and thus why they'd all crowded into Gaius's chambers.

Lancelot held himself rigidly as Gaius walked over and sat on the bench in front of him. The old physician unwound the bandage, revealing skin that had indeed healed from the mottled spray of red it'd been before. Lancelot sat stiffly, his eyes remaining firmly closed. No one rushed him; this was a tense moment for them all.

Lancelot inhaled shakily, then opened his eyes. He squinted against the light that must have been harsh after so long in darkness. Arthur held his breath as Lancelot slowly roved his gaze around the room. Then he smiled, the tension melting from his shoulders in an instant.

"Things are a little fuzzy, but I can see you all."

They all exchanged elated grins at that.

"Excellent," Gaius proclaimed. "I'm confident that the rest of your sight will return after a little more time." He gave Lancelot a pat on the knee and stood up.

Arthur moved closer and reached out to clap Lancelot on the shoulder, giving him a fervent nod. Lancelot nodded back, no words needed. Arthur may have led his friends into danger, but he'd gotten them all home.

They'd gotten each other home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end. ^_^ I'm glad you all enjoyed this little whump romp. Next up I have a 10-chapter angst fest that I'll start posting Sunday.


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